This early morning, I went to my brother’s farm to enjoy the cool breeze and the soft sunlight reflecting off the plants.

Hello to all my friends here in the Hive Garden! How are you all doing?

If you notice, the pictures I took are a bit blurry. The reason is that I wanted to capture the reflection of the morning sunlight. I really liked how beautiful the light looked, so I intentionally took the photos that way. I tried capturing the reflection and for me, it turned out nice.

Because it’s the weekend, I went to my brother Arnold’s farm earlier today. I hurried there early in the morning while the sun was still gentle. I was excited to see how the plants were growing and what had changed since my last visit. I also picked some vegetables so I wouldn’t have to buy them anymore.

My brother Arnold told me that the eggplants are not growing very well. Because it rains a lot, he sometimes misses the time to spray them. He is worried that worms might eat the plants. So he checks the eggplants every day to make sure they are safe and healthy. There are already many weeds growing around the plants. My kuya arnold can’t clean them all the time because he’s also busy taking care of his other crops.

Wow, his chili peppers look so beautiful. I have a short story about them. Last year, my brother planted a lot of chili and luckily, the price was very high. He had two separate planting areas and because of the good price, he earned a lot and was able to save money. He even bought an elf truck, which he now uses every day on the farm for transportation and hauling products. That truck is now very useful for everything on the farm.

Tomatoes are the main highlight of my blog today because I have been growing them since I was in elementary school. I know very well how to plant and take care of them until they are ready to harvest. My siblings and I help out, especially with fertilizing whenever we don’t have school. As I always say, life can be really hard but I’m thankful that we have hardworking parents who dedicate themselves to the farm.

Before, whenever we planted I always heard my mama Moret say, I hope we get a good harvest so we can cover all the expenses. Farming can be unpredictable, when prices are high, we earn well and as a way of giving thanks, we buy a lechon (roast pig) to share with our farm workers. But when prices drop, sometimes we only break even. That’s just how life is, yet we remain thankful that we have a source of income.

We don’t buy tablea anymore when we want to cook champorado. Whenever the cacao fruits are ripe, we collect the seeds, dry them under the sun then roast and peel them before grinding. It’s a simple process but worth it because we get to enjoy real chocolate made from our own cacao.

Sometimes, my mama Moret makes chocolate candies using her own recipe. They’re sweet, creamy and delicious even if they’re homemade. The funny part is that we all ended up with bad teeth because we couldn’t stop eating sweets, hahaha I even wear dentures now.

Thank you everyone for stopping by and visiting my blog. Your support truly means a lot to me. I will end my post here, and I hope to see you again in my next story!